MYSURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that he is confident that Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot will go by the advice of the Council of Ministers and reject the petition seeking sanction for prosecution against him in connection with the alleged site allotment scam in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
Siddaramaiah, who was in Mysuru, said that he has not received any new notice from the Raj Bhavan. The CM said that the Governor will be “convinced” as everything is legal.
Siddaramaiah further reiterated that he did not influence anyone or misuse his office to get alternative sites for his wife. The State Government has advised the Governor to withdraw the show-cause notice sent to the chief minister, calling it unconstitutional.
Siddaramaiah said that the sites were allotted to his wife Parvathi during the previous BJP government based on an application submitted by her in 2021. “If I wanted to get the sites allotted, I would have gotten it done when I was in the office. Though my wife had submitted two applications seeking allotment of sites for acquiring 3.17 acres of land, I did not approve it when I was the CM between 2013 and 2018,” he claimed.
Siddaramaiah said that it was wrong to compare the MUDA issue with former CM BS Yediyurappa’s land denotification case. “In Yediyurappa’s case (where prosecution sanction was granted in the past), money was taken through cheque, he (Yediyurappa) had denotified (land). What have I done? Are there any documents or orders or statements from me?” the CM asked.
On Karnataka Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh meeting the Governor, Siddaramaiah said that it was a courtesy call as she could not meet him after assuming office since he was away in Delhi. When asked why he was being repeatedly targeted by the Opposition, Siddaramaiah said that the BJP and JDS tried to destabilise his government in the past through ‘Operation Lotus’ and failed. “Though I have not done anything wrong, they have taken up the MUDA issue to destabilise the State Government that is catering to the poor and implementing the five guarantee schemes,” Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah said that he will expose the previous BJP government and will present the facts related to scams during its rule.
‘BSY SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN JAIL’
CM Siddaramaiah said that former CM BS Yediyurappa, who has been accused in a POCSO case, should have been in jail. When asked about Yediyurappa claiming that Siddaramaiah will resign before the Mysuru Chalo padayatra ends, he said that the former has no moral right to speak about him. “He is not in jail because of the court’s mercy,” he added.